Iterations: Attempting to Perfect a Work

Pussy willows

“One ought never to forget that by actually perfecting one piece, one learns more than beginning or half finishing ten.  Let it rest, let it rest and keep going back to it and working at it over and over again until there is not a note too much or too little, not a bar you could improve upon.  Whether it is beautiful is and entirely different matter, but perfect it must be.”
— Johannes Brahms

I’ve been trying to paint pussy willows, and after several iterations, I still haven’t managed to capture them perfectly.  Not all of my attempts are pleasing.  With watercolors, I find that working it over generally muddies things, and it is better to slow down and make a new beginning.  I’m still not satisfied with my results, so I need to try again (and again).

 

Wordless Wednesdays: 12 Views of Spring Blossoms and Buds

April Means “To Open”

“The word APRIL comes from the Latin root, aperi’re, “to open. ” . . . Buds and birds burst forth from nature’s womb, the fallow earth steadily fills, and eventually we emerge from our sleepy state in March and break out of the house.”
— Amanda Hesser, from The Cook and the Gardener

After a few days of partly sunny weather, nature has awakened in Seattle.  So many things are bursting into blossom and bud.  You can’t beat Seattle in April.  Here are some photos from a walk around my neighborhood:

Backlit pussy willows

Wispy willow spreading seeds

Unusual peachy daffodil

Sprightly orange centered daffodil

Fritillary buds

Fritillaries

Fritillary buds

A Return to Jello Mold Farm

Jello mold with rabbit

While I was out driving in the country north of Seattle, I stopped by Jello Mold Farm to walk in the flower fields.  The beds are still awaking from winter dormancy.  A few more warm days, and this will be a totally different landscape.  Right now, the farm holds just the promise of blooms.

Here are some photos:

Bundled twine in readiness for planting

Forsythia

Yellow against gray — forsythia

Pussy willow and catkin

“I have a little pussy,
And her coat is silver gray;
She lives in a great wide meadow
And she never runs away.
She always is a pussy,
She’ll never be a cat
Because — she’s a pussy willow!
Now what do you think of that!
— author Unknown

Winter bed

Seed head

New buds

Old seed cases

Single dangling chestnut

Fallen chestnuts

Net over peony beds

Blossom

Last season’s hydrangea bed

Dried hydrangea

Wheelbarrows at rest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s Blooming at the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market

Calla lilies in a bucket, Seattle Wholesale Growers Market

The Seattle Wholesale Growers Market will soon be celebrating its one-year anniversary, and I stopped by the warehouse to photograph some of its current offerings of fresh, seasonal blooms.  The market is a producer’s cooperative that supports Washington, Oregon and Alaska flower farmers and provides a place for them to sell directly to Seattle area florists, event planners, stylists, and other buyers of flowers.

Several of the Seattle Wholesale growers, including Diane Szukovathy of Jello Mold Farm, have recently been featured in a new book, The 50 Mile Bouquet by Debra Prinzing.  This book captures an exciting time in the floral industry, when more and more buyers are demanding locally and sustainably grown flowers.

Every visit to the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market is a feast for my eyes, and this one was as rewarding as ever.  Here are a few photos:

The Seattle Wholesale Growers Market is housed in an old warehouse.

A big selection of twigs and branches for floral arrangements

Budding branches of purple leaf plum for spring bouquets

Cylindrical bark containers

I love these twiggy wreaths!

Moss, buds, and twigs give rustic texture to this wreath.

The first-of-the-season sweet peas

Passionale daffodil and yellow specialty daffodils

Bucket of Passionale daffodils

Bucket of Frittelaria Assyriaca

Blooming branches

Stool, Seattle Wholesale Growers Market

Pussy willows and polka dots

Pussy willow and polka dots

Treewatching Update: Mid-March

The pussy willow buds are now sprouting tiny yellow pollen-like fluff.

Pussy willows in mid-March

Willow branches against blue sky

And the maple buds are becoming plumper and redder.  The trees look like they are blushing red.  I expect the buds to pop into leaves very soon.

Maple tree blushing red

Plump, red buds of the maple tree in mid-March

I’m seeing no change to the horse chestnut buds.  (The trees have not yet been removed.)

Ink and watercolor sketch of willow and maple buds

 

Tree Watching in Seattle: Thwarted!

Posted signs on my "adopted" horse chestnut trees

My “adopted” horse chestnut trees are slated for removal!  The property owner wants to get rid of them because they are too close to the power lines and apparently planted too closely together.  I am sad that I won’t get to watch these trees come into leaf.

Bud of horse chestnut tree

The buds on the horse chestnut trees are still not showing much action, although I did notice that they are very sticky to the touch.

Meanwhile, the buds on “my” maple trees are starting to fatten just a tiny bit.

Buds of maple tree

And the willow tree is still bursting with pussy willows.

Branch of "my" willow tree

Tree Watching in Seattle: It’s Pussy Willow Time

Dense cluster of pussy willows

Something is happening here with my “adopted” willow tree.  Suddenly its branches hold a profusion of pussy willows.  Each little fur-bud holds a rainbow of colors, not just gray.  Beautiful!

Willow branches against the blue sky

Look at all the colors in each little bursting bud

I brought one specimen home to paint

Watercolor sketch of pussy willow

Watercolor sketch of pussy willow on gift tag

Pussy Willows!

Pussy willows at Jello Mold Farm

Twigs and branches can add interest and texture to seasonal bouquets.  And these pussy willow branches are perfect for winter flower arrangements.  These were growing along the border of Jello Mold Farm.  The pussy willows were among our favorite finds in the flower fields, perhaps because they hold the promise of spring.

Willow bud bursting into the iconic pussy willow

Pussy willows standing tall

An aura of light surrounds these pussy willows

My friend Carol taking a picture of pussy willows with her iPhone

Reprising Pussy Willows

Pussy willows

Pussy willows after rain

I hope you will forgive me if I repeat myself, but I am loving these pussy willows and wanted to make another attempt at sketching them.

“When Claude Monet painted his three-hundredth canvas of a water lily, was he merely repeating himself?”
     — Nicholas Delbanco, Lastingness: The Art of Old Age

Watercolor sketch of pussy willows

Another watercolor sketch of pussy willows